The market of dietary supplements is developing very dynamically. There are more and more new preparations and the number of advertisements praising new products is automatically increasing. How to know good quality supplements? What supplements to choose to help yourself, not harm you. Dietary supplements are designed to supplement the normal diet. They have no medicinal properties and should not be treated as medicines. However, not all consumers are aware of the differences between a drug and a dietary supplement. Greater knowledge on this subject will allow you to use these products more safely and better choose them for your needs.
Dietary supplements – what exactly are they?
By definition, a dietary supplement is a foodstuff that is intended to supplement a normal diet. It is a concentrated source of vitamins, minerals or other substances that have a nutritional or other physiological effect. It must be in a form that allows for appropriate dosage in accordance with the recommendations – e.g. capsules, powder sachets, liquid.
Therefore, according to the law, a dietary supplement is a food and should not be confused with medicinal products. The maximum content of vitamins and other ingredients contained in the daily dose of the supplement is also determined. This is to guarantee that adherence to the dosage recommended by the manufacturer is safe for your health.
In order for supplementation to be safe, you should not exceed the recommended daily intake and take higher doses than recommended by the manufacturer. “More” does not mean “better” in this case. Vitamins and other ingredients can be overdosed and the opposite effect can be achieved.
Supplements vs. Medications – Differences
The drug has medicinal properties – it can be used to prevent or treat a disease. It has been proven to be effective and safe in clinical trials. Even after marketing, medicines are constantly monitored and monitored for possible side effects. Medicines must meet strict quality requirements and are therefore subject to regular inspections.
There are many differences between a drug and a supplement. First of all, the supplement does not cure. Its purpose is only to supplement your daily diet. The introduction to the market itself is also much easier – the supplements do not undergo many years of research, it is not required to confirm their quality, safety or the effects of action described by the manufacturer. However, the name of the product must be accompanied by the phrase “dietary supplement”. The consumer should have no doubts that he is buying a dietary supplement and not a drug.
The ease of introducing a dietary supplement to the market, the lack of restrictive requirements that these products would have to meet, as well as the very limited control of supplements that are already on the market means that irrational use of these preparations may carry more risks than benefits. In addition, supplements are available not only in pharmacies, but also in stores, at stations or on the Internet, which does not mean that they are safe.
Which supplements should I choose?
A dietary supplement can be a valuable supplement to the daily diet, as long as it is used rationally. Selected individually, depending on the needs, it can provide the body with valuable ingredients.
The vast majority of the population uses supplements. The most commonly used supplements are vitamins and minerals, weight loss supplements, supplements supporting the immune system, digestive system, as well as supplements to improve concentration and memory. It is worth mentioning that there are groups of people who are recommended to use dietary supplements, for example because of the lack of preparations with the status of drugs or their poor selection. A typical example is pregnant or lactating women, for whom almost all available products are dietary supplements.
In order for their use to have the desired effect, we must pay attention to the source of such a preparation. By far the best and safest place where we should buy dietary supplements is a pharmacy – a stationary or legal online pharmacy. You won’t find products of unknown origin here, which can happen when you buy them from a random seller on the Internet.
When considering which supplements to choose, we should always consult a doctor or pharmacist beforehand. This is especially important in the case of the aforementioned pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, children, as well as all people who take various medications on a regular basis. The ingredients of dietary supplements may interact with them.
Dietary supplements can be helpful for people who are unable to get all the vitamins and minerals from their diet, those necessary for the proper functioning of the body. The current lifestyle, haste and high consumption of highly processed foods, do not work in favor of proper nutrition. A poor diet can cause many deficiencies that pose a health risk. However, before we start thinking about which supplements to take and which ones we need, it is worth consulting a doctor and doing some basic tests. Only then will we know which vitamins or microelements our body may actually get in too small quantities.